With a world filled with hopeless situations, our children need to know a constant hope when they’re fearful and filled with worry. A hope that is found in Jesus Christ. When worry overwhelms, give them hope.
Worry Can Grow With Age
Recently I met a group of women for dinner. We had all participated in an online Bible study and I was meeting most of them “in real life” for the first time. As we sat and talked, our conversation turned to our children. One mom confided that her son struggled with a drug addiction. Another shared that her daughter had turned into a mean girl. Another mom admitted that despite her best efforts to do family Bible studies, her eldest persisted in wreaking havoc on their times together. Then the statistics were shared: no longer do we fear our children’s lives being taken by drunk driving or drug overdose. No, we are fearful of suicide.
These women were godly, devoted and faithful and yet they were intimately acquainted with a reality I’m only beginning to understand. We truly have no control over the direction our children choose to take and the consequences that are on the other side of those decisions.
Worry is Warranted
I was away from home when I heard the tragic news of the Las Vegas shooting. I wanted so desperately to hug my babies and hold my husband tight.
Days later I awoke to news of the wildfires in California. As I read of those who barely survived and the stories of those who did not survive. My heart was sobered.
A year ago, I learned of the passing of a precious young lady who was taken from this world too soon. The same day, I received news that hospice care was being arranged for another precious soul. In the middle of all these events, some distant, some very close to home, all I could think was” How do I raise my children in this?
Our Response to Worry and to Being Fearful
When I was a teenager, we would sing this song.
“This world is not my home. I’m just a passing through.”
I can’t explain the “why’s” behind premeditated and natural disasters. I can’t philosophize the reasons behind why some people live well into their 90’s while others…their life is cut short…long before they’ve really begun to live…to truly experience life.
I can, however, cling to hope.
Despite all the hopelessness that truly abounds, I can live without the paralysis that being fearful and worrying can cause. Not because I don’t experience it but rather because I can choose to focus on the eternal hope of Jesus Christ.
With an eternal focus, a big picture mentality, a wide angle, we can begin to experience the abundant life that is ours to experience in part on earth, but in completion in eternity.
A few months ago, in my MOPS meeting, we talked about worry. It’s so easy to be anxious and fearful about…well…everything. The women at my table quickly admitted their different levels of fear. From people pleasing to diagnosed anxiety, it was clear we all face worry on a daily basis.
